Coming From Beyond Your Stars
by PrincessMud
Summary: The Crystal Gems must protect Earth from what had defeated Homeworld.
1. Prologue

Everyone expected it. They put it off as long as possible.

Steven started to go to school after all the, unfortunate business with Homeworld had been taken care of. It was an odd reversal, as Connie spent more time with the Gems, to work on her training, while Steven distanced himself, trying to reconcile what he experienced with what he believed.

Connie almost ran away from home after her parents tried to keep her from the Temple. Steven and his dad moved into a small apartment. In middle school, with hormones acting like gasoline on the metaphorical fire, everything exploded.

It was Connie's father, oddly, who helped with everything. He knew what it was like to live in someone's shadow, being only a security guard while his wife was a high profile doctor. He was powerless while dealing with super powered beings; beings who were influencing his daughter.

"We all have to make concessions to make this work. Love takes work." He said, looking straight at his daughter as he spoke. Connie burst into tears and ran to her parents and Steven turned to the group of Gems huddled together. All of them looked at him with various degrees of sheepishness, even Peridot. Ruby and Sapphire hadn't been able to fuse for months and both of them seemed to tremble. Pearl hung onto Jasper, both looking out of place among the smaller Gems; the first looking frail while the other just loomed.

But it hurt to look at Lapis. Lapis had been the first Gem he had successfully fused with. She was the first Gem who had gotten to know him, not as an incarnation of Rose Quartz, but as Steven. His adoration for Lapis Lazuli was equal only to Gilgamesh. When they formed Heliotrope, the body felt powerful and joyous, if only for a breath.

They had done so many horrible things as Heliotrope.

"There's no such thing as a good war." Steven muttered. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and he looked up into his father's face.

"We sometimes have to do things to keep the people we love safe. We do what we need to do Steven, and unfortunately, you needed to do a lot more than what you were ready for. No one wanted that for you. Especially the Gems."

Steven remembered the anger, no, the inhuman rage he had felt when an injury caused Stevonnie to unfuse. How that blended so well into Lapis Lazuli's hatred when they formed Heliotrope and became a force so strong, even Jasper bowed to the new authority. Their ragtag group had turned back the first wave.

They all knew that something worse was out there. That Homeworld was fighting, and losing, a battle elsewhere in space. That was why they needed the Kindergarten. That was why they needed Earth. And that was why they wanted Rose Quartz alive.

Now all the diamonds were gone; Blue, White, Yellow, and Pink.

Now it was only them, for however long it took for that other force to notice.

Steven stepped forward. "Guys, I'm-"

"No." Sapphire, of course it was her, said strongly. "Not ever. Not to us." He ran to them and there were tears and laughter and Steven was pretty sure that Pearl and Jasper fused for a moment, but no one would ever give him a straight answer after everything was said and done.

Garnet and Heliotrope definitely were there.

Connie still didn't know how she felt about Heliotrope.

Things seemed to settle down, for a while.

Steven and Connie continued to go to school, like normal Earth children. The permanent addition of Jasper, Peridot, and Lapis to the Temple allowed them to only assist on missions for training purposes. The other Gems who joined them after the final battle with Homeworld were transient; they travelled around the world dealing with corrupted Gems, collecting the shards, and bringing them back.

As they grew, Steven stayed, husky. He didn't have the patience for the gym, though testosterone and being half-Gem – and living with Jasper the meathead – allowed him to build strength rather easily. He practiced combat with the Gems when forced but everyone knew he was more of a diplomat, a thinker, and a pacifist.

Connie, on the other hand, was the strategist, a debater, and a fighter.

They complemented each other almost perfectly and because of that, Stevonnie quickly became an adept warrior. Everyone expected it. Steven and Connie didn't even consider it.

Then came their first dance.

It was Homecoming, freshman year of high school. Both Steven and Connie had shot up like weeds. But everything about Steven was big; his body, his hair, and his laugh were all voluminous. Connie was built like a sword. Her muscles were lean and she was quick. Everything about her was boiled down like leather, except for her smile, her eyes, and her laugh.

And she hated dresses.

"It's not practical!" She threw her hands into the air before pushing herself backward onto Steven's bed. Steven nervously plucked at the strings of his guitar as he watched her grab a pillow and scream into it.

"Well, it's not like we'll be fighting anything at the dance." He said. He watched the very methodical movements of Connie's body as she lowered the pillow, sat up, and chucked it at his head.

"Don't tell me you're taking their side!" Steven let the pillow hit him, shielding instead the new guitar. It was made out of rosewood. He liked it.

"I'm not! Look, every woman in my life except for Lapis wears pants. Even if they're not technically real pants and only a physical projection of a humanoid form for sentient space rocks. Except Peridot. Anyway, if no one had told me otherwise, I would have thought that pants was an acceptable form of formalwear for a lady of any age."

Connie tried, she really did. But she snorted out a breath and fell forward, her elbows on her knees and her hands covering her face, as she laughed.

"Are the Gems even, you know," Connie said as she calmed down and wiped her eyes. "Ladies?" Steven went back to awkwardly plucking his guitar.

"I mean, I guess so? Like, that's how they identify on Earth so that makes them ladies. Women, I mean. They're female because that's how they align themselves with the rest of humanity."

"So are you then, half woman?"

"Well technically I do have an X chromosome." Steven gave Connie a cheesy grin and she snorted a laugh again. He kept a smile as he looked back down at the instrument in his hands. "But in all seriousness, no. I'm fully, one-hundred percent male. Because that's how I identify you know? But it's not like I care about how that gender is perceived. I wear pink, I keep my hair long, and all of my Gem powers are maternal based. I don't think that makes me any less of who I am though."

Connie sighed as she slid off the bed to sit on the floor with Steven.

"I wish I was as certain about things as you are." She laid her head on the bed and she looked up at the ceiling. Lapis had painted a surrealist version of space some months back and it gave Connie vertigo if she looked at it for too long. But it was also extremely calming.

"Are you not a lady Connie?" Steven asked softly.

"No. I'm a knight." Connie said, just as softly. She heard Steven set down the guitar and move over to her. She felt him put his hand on top of hers.

"I think that's enough to go on for now." Connie flipped over her hand and interlaced her fingers with his. He always felt warm, but never in a cloying, oppressive way. She turned her head to look at him and found him already looking at her.

"Do you love me Steven?" She asked. Steven's eyebrows raised in surprise, but he quickly smiled.

"Of course I do."

"I mean, the way Greg loved your mom." Steven's face went blank and he turned to look up at the ceiling.

"I don't love anyone like that. I think I was always supposed to be the opposite of my mom you know? Even more than the obvious; I'm human where she was a gem, I'm male but she was female. You know. But there was also her personality. My mom was a master tactician, she cared very little for specific human life for a very long time, and she could be in love with so many people at once and wasn't bothered if it hurt them because she was so powerful for so long. But I was a child, I care about how everyone feels. I don't want to hurt anyone. I love without being _in_ love. And I don't think I can ever be romantic, about anyone." Connie felt his hand go still. He wouldn't pull his hand away, so as not to offend her, but he would give her the opportunity to remove herself if she was uncomfortable.

She tightened her grip.

"I don't think I'm anything Steven. I mean, science has me labelled as a female but I don't feel one way or the other. The only time I feel certain about myself is when I'm Stevonnie, and that might just be because of you. If I end up falling in love, would that upset you?" Steven looked back at her and she could almost see stars in his eyes.

"Connie, nothing you do could ever upset me."

Stevonnie went to the Homecoming dance instead. And in a tuxedo.

High school passed almost uneventfully for the duo; Connie tried dating and found more success with girls at her school, but ultimately she found her experiences with the Gems as a hindrance in relating to other, well, humans.

True to his word, Steven was unperturbed by her dating and seemed to almost be relieved at the result. Having love be such a driving force with fusion and among Gems had caused a great deal of turmoil when he thought he was incapable of feeling that way.

It turned out that he, once again, was just a new twist on Gem tradition. He could love without being _in_ love.

Senior year was a trying time. Connie didn't see the need to go to college after graduating, as she knew she would be spending her future with the Gems. Her parents had a minor meltdown, insisting that peace would call for swords to be put down and plowshares to be taken up; she should have a career.

When Connie threatened to go into MMA fighting, they backed off. Steven suggested that they get a practical education on the road; they would go off with the transient Gems to collect corrupted and shattered gems. Everyone could agree that Earth history was not going to help them in the eventual battle against whatever had defeated Homeworld.

They left, taking only Lion with them. They wrote occasional letters, and sent back bubbled Gems.

They were gone for five years. When they returned, Steven and Connie were married. And Connie was pregnant.


	2. Chapter 1

"WHAT." Living for so long, the Gems seemed to change so slowly. Steven grimaced but laughed at Pearl's familiar, high pitched squawk. "But how? I mean, why? I mean, I thought you didn't…" Pearl sputtered out like an engine as Jasper and Amethyst laughed.

"I love Connie, Pearl. I love her because she is Stevonnie. I couldn't imagine being with anyone else for the rest of my life." Steven said.

"And love is more than romance. Sometimes, when it shouldn't work, that's when it works the best." Connie continued. Greg coughed and shuffled awkwardly, causing laughter to ripple through the small crowd. Steven looked out and his eyes suddenly widened with fear.

"WE GOT MARRIED BEFORE THE BABY I SWEAR PLEASE DON'T KILL ME." He yelled before ducking behind his wife. Pushing through the group was Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran.

"Connie. You eloped?" Dr. Maheswaran gasped. Connie smiled, one hand on her stomach, the other curled in Lion's man.

"It was a moment of insanity mom." She said.

"But, what about tradition? Was it a…" Dr. Maheswaran lowered her voice. " _Gandharva_ marriage?" Connie stared at her mother for a moment before bursting out into rolling laughter.

"Oh, mother, no! It is a _Prajapatya_ marriage! And a love match." Connie calmed down and took both of her mother's hands into her own. "Oh mom, we can still do the wedding. It'll either have to be quick or sometime next year."

Dr. Maheswaran sniffed and looked over Connie's shoulder to glare at Steven.

"We will do it quickly so that baby is born properly."

"Oh cool! We get to do a human wedding! Greg kept blathering about that with Rose but it never happened." Amethyst said. Connie's parents froze and everyone turned to Greg, who had gone a crimson color.

"Guess that makes you a basta- _OOF_!" Amethyst was cut off by someone's elbow being pushed forcefully into her abdomen.

"So." Steven drew out the word as he shifted away from the Maheswarans. "Who wants to see pictures!"

They had decided on the trip back to divide and conquer. Connie went to stay with her parents while Steven camped out with the Gems and his dad.

"Steven, aren't you worried?" His father asked him as they sat down in the modified living room. "I mean, congratulations, but after everything with your mother…"

Steven paused before taking a seat on the floor, resting on Lion's side. He was weaving something out of long strands of dried grass.

"Not really, no. I mean, forgive me being crass, but everything going on below the belt is definitely human. We think that the baby might have some enhanced abilities, but since it won't have a gem, it will definitely be human. So, no harm to the baby, no harm to Connie, and no harm to me."

"Wow, so I'm going to be a grandfather." Greg leaned back into the couch, slightly dazed.

"I know that it is traditional in human marriage ceremonies that one partner takes the surname of the other. Are you going by Maheshwaren then?" Peridot asked as she played with the hem of t-shirt. Out of them all, she was the last Steven expected to be wearing clothing. But, thinking back, the limb enhancers had been additions. And then there was the incident with the clothes stealing.

"No, we're keeping our names. But she wanted the baby to be a Universe." Steven said.

"I'm just stunned. I didn't think you were capable of, well, not that you weren't _capable_ only that you wouldn't be _inclined_ to, well, you know." Pearl spun her hands and looked around the room, waiting for someone else to say what was on her mind.

"Pearl didn't think you wanted to have sex." Amethyst said bluntly. Pearl's cheeks flushed blue and she tried to curl inward. Steven smiled and went back to the weaving in his hands. There were small, purple flowers dotting here and there.

"Sex isn't love." He looked up first at Pearl and then at his father. "Just like how fusion isn't love either." He went back to the weaving. "Love makes sex, and fusion, possible. I love Connie. It's not romantic, no, but that's because I love her for more than her physical self. I love Stevonnie, and she is Stevonnie, and I love her. I can't really explain it better than that."

"I understand you Steven." Garnet said. She stood, as she always did, stoically in the open archway.

" _Tsh_." Jasper crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ you do Fusion."

"I understand you too Steven." Lapis settled down quietly next to Steven and handed him a small bunch of dried grass, but different from the ones he had in his hands already. "They're from our beach. To bring you home." Steven looked at her and smiled as he took them.

"You're not mad?"

"Beach summer fun buddies forever right?"

"Yeah, I'm just saying, Stevonnie is cool an' all but Heliotrope is _sick_!" Amethyst started laughing and even Lapis chuckled.

"Heliotrope is what a fusion should be." Jasper said, her voice sounding less growly than usual. Steven was distracted by Pearl's involuntary shiver.

"I don't know how something that looks so much like a smoldering rock can be so cold." She muttered.

"So how long are you staying in Beach City Steven?" Greg asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

"As long as possible. We need to find a place to live though."

"But, you can stay here!" Pearl gasped and everyone turned to look at her.

"Pearl, what are you talking about?" Garnet asked.

"Well, it's where he lived before." Pearl replied meekly.

"Pearl, even with the renovations, the Temple is barely big enough for the six of you. Plus, I didn't even live here as an infant. There is no way Connie, a baby, and I am going to fit in here." Steven stated. Pearl looked down at the knots of her hands.

"I know. I just miss you being around." A silence settled around them and the group allowed it to last for a moment.

"I miss you, all of you, too. And it's not like we'll be going far. We just need a place of our own." Steven said. Pearl sniffed and her head lowered.

"Pearl, don't cry." Garnet said. Pearl sniffed louder.

"Well, I'm happy for you kiddo. It's nice to see everything finally working out." Greg said. Steven winced and looked away.

"Yeah." Steven muttered and worked at the thing in his hands.

"What is it Steven?" Garnet asked. Steven grinned and held up the thing he had been weaving; it resembled a simple baby doll, with a large round head and rounded limbs. The two grasses had been woven together in stripes with dots of purple flowers.

"What's that?" Lapis asked.

"It's a good luck charm. For Connie." Steven put the woven charm on the coffee table.

"Where did you guys end up?" Amethyst asked as Steven stood up and brushed away the loose pieces of grass.

"We stopped in Bharata. Connie wanted to see where her ancestors had come from."

"How did she like it? I loved Bharata." Pearl said with a sigh. Steven put a hand to the back of his head, his fingers barely sinking into the dense curls of his hair.

"Actually, she hated it. The terrain was treacherous and she didn't care much for the climate." He put his hand down and Lion stood up. "No ocean breeze to even things out over there."

"Where are you going Bud?" Greg asked from the couch.

"I was going to step out to see the water. Just remind myself I'm home." He walked out of the room, trailed by Lion. The other Gems, and Greg, watched silently as he walked out.

Steven was tall, definitely taking after his mother. He stood near about to seven feet and only Garnet and Jasper could even begin to come close. His hair, a dark black, seemed out of place when compared to Greg's human brown and Rose's pink. Perhaps that should have been their first warning, that Steven was more than just a hybrid.

After seeing Heliotrope, they definitely knew.

But they had all seen what they had wanted to see. Greg saw his tiny piece of humanity made flesh, the Gems all saw the Rose Quartz gem, marking him as one of their own.

Only Lapis had ever seen him as Steven from the very beginning. Neither Human nor Gem, which was probably why she was the other half of Heliotrope, though the thought of that body made her water go cold.

"What, er," Pearl paused to clear her throat as she reached out her delicate fingers to grab the woven charm. "What flower is this?" Peridot tilted her head as she examined the figure.

"It is of the borage family. This type is known as," Here Peridot paused and she coughed into her fist. "Heliotropes." Lapis stood and walked quietly away.

Lapis walked up to a Gem who stood, shifting awkwardly on her feet. Her hand was clenched on her wrist, covering – or protecting – her gem.

"Good night Jade." Lapis greeted as she stepped forward. Jade jumped and bowed her head at Lapis.

"Good night Lapis Lazuli." Jade straightened and they both looked down the beach to where Lion and Steven stood looking out into the ocean. "Is, uhm, is Lord Universe alright?"

"I am not certain. The Crystal Gems are worried." They stood in silence and saw Steven reach into Lion's mane and pull out his ukulele. The pair then sat down again and Lapis could hear the faint strains of some song.

Pink Diamond never sang. Apparently, Rose Quartz did from time to time, but Lapis didn't know anything about that.

"Did anything happen while you all were gone?" Lapis asked.

"Besides the, human baby?"

"Yes."

"Not that I or Agate were aware of. We stumbled upon some Homeworld tech that was attacked by, something though."

"Something?" Lapis finally gave her attention to the other Gem. Jade was one of the newer Gems cultivated on Homeworld. They, as a class, were meant to perform light guard duty for the wealthy elite. They fought with a pair of swords that had a short, fat blade with a thin adornment that came from the back of the handle. They were wielded for close range fighting and moved in flowing patterns. They were not supposed to be deployed as a military force.

But here they ended up. This Jade was a timid sort.

"Lord Universe and Connie found a transport. I think they had wanted Peridot to go and examine it. It was destroyed, but they do not think it was a crash that did so. They believe that something attacked it." Jade answered.

"Did you find any gems?"

"Only, shards."

"No wonder Steven seems so shaken. Five years is a long time to find shards."

"Yes, I can understand why Lord Universe would want a human baby. I saw many happy human families with children." Lapis noticed that Jade was still holding tightly to her gem.

"Why do they do that?" Dr. Maheswaran said, her face twisting unpleasantly over her tea cup.

"Do what mom?" Connie asked as she crossed a leg under her before sitting in an arm chair with her own cup.

"Call him 'Lord' or 'Prince'? I don't like it." Her mother sniffed and took a sip of her tea. Connie only smiled pleasantly as she follow suit.

"It's because of his mom. She was one of the Homeworld leaders and they don't really know how to deal with him. He's unprecedented. They sometimes call him Lord Rose and it's kind of funny." Connie finally said as she set her tea cup on its saucer and set it down on the end table next to her.

"So what about your baby? Will it be alien royalty too?"

"Probably. But it won't be a Gem if that's what you're asking."

"How do you know?" Connie sighed and ran her finger through the small zen garden that sat on the same end table. The grains felt like granules of sugar and it was soft, in its own way.

"Well, taking into consideration both human and Gem biology, it's pretty obvious. Rose had to shapeshift human reproductive organs and maintain them through the pregnancy. She singlehandedly coded Gem DNA onto a shapeshifted X chromosome and somehow had the tiny little Y chromosome hold more dominant physical characteristics.

"Therefore, because Steven did not shapeshift his reproductive organs, this means that what he has was coded onto the human Y chromosome he got from his father. Yes, it will carry some of the DNA from his mother, but as his gem did not seem to be affected, we think that this will result in an enhanced human child instead of the Gem and human hybrid that Steven is."

"Okay, I can understand that. Have you seen an obstetrician yet?"

"No, not yet. We did only just get back."

"Well, you need to go see one as soon as possible. This pregnancy obviously is categorized as high risk regardless of what you think."

"Of course mom."

"And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You have pica."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been eating my zen garden." Connie pulled her finger out of her mouth and could still see a few grains of sand on it. She looked down and saw rows dug out of the sand.

"Oh no." Connie felt the blood leave her face and her stomach churned.

"No, no, don't worry. It's totally normal. And it's fine as long as you're not eating too much or from a contaminated source." Connie whipped her head around to face her mother.

"I am eating sand."

"That's pica for you. One of your aunts had it for one of her pregnancies. Except she wanted to eat clay. It usually means you have a vitamin deficiency. So you really should find an OB soon. I can get you a couple of recommendations." They both sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking their tea.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you not like Steven?" There was a sigh and a clattering of china as Dr. Maheswaran settled herself.

"It's not that I don't like him, he's a very sweet and gentle man. I just don't like what he represents. He's completely changed you."

"You have to know that I was unhappy before I met him." Her mother coughed and looked down at her tea.

"I do know. And I think that's just another reason for my dislike. I wish I had been the one to make you happy my daughter."

"Oh mom." Her er waved her comment away.

"I will warm up to him. Especially since he is the father of my grandchild." Dr. Maheswaran took another sip of tea. "When will you be moving back in?" Connie let out a bark of laughter and her mother looked surprised.

"You can't be serious."

"Absolutely. We have the space, and what better place for you to be?"

"Mom, for one thing, Steven is a musician. All the time, at varying volumes, he is a musician. And that is the least of the reasons why we can't live here."

"Don't tell me you're going to go live on that beach."

"No, we're going to get our own place."

"With what money? You've been off who knows where for the past five years…"

"Yeah, looking for gem shards. And if you want to see what confusion looks like, hand a Homeworld Gem a regular old Earth ruby. We found enough stones to see us through since we had to sell them quickly. Jade had a literal fit when she saw the bracelets people were wearing in Zhongguo so we certainly couldn't bring anything back with us."

"Mmmm."

"Mom, we will still have the wedding."

"I have already made calls. You better believe you're having the wedding."


	3. Chapter 2

Lapis walked down to the shoreline and sat down next to Steven as he kept playing. They didn't say anything and just listened as the waves softly swished over the sand, accompanied by his music.

"I know you are already aware," Lapis started. Steven softened his strumming but didn't stop. "That fusions on Homeworld were always done with Gems of the same type only. But it wasn't always for combat."

"Fusions make Gems stronger, bigger. But Fusions were meant to be temporary, and to serve a purpose. To make it about love or power," Lapis shook her head and pulled her knees to her chest. "That was out of the ordinary. Because even fusions were, at first, treated like their own people. And it was just odd to have two people become one, independent person."

"It's a little more permanent with humans having children I think. And we can fuse multiple times." Steven said and Lapis laughed.

"The thought boggles the mind." She said. They drifted off into silence again.

"Peridot and I, we have the mindset of the majority of gems, even with the gap in our years. We don't have any inclination to fuse with other gems out of love, or a need to feel like we belong or to feel strong. Pearls," Lapis shuddered. "Your Pearl is a good defect, because the others were meant only for holding. They had as much life and autonomy in them as the pearls I've found in the oceans here.

"And even Jasper, she will fuse if it benefits her. But I was just a simple Gem and Peridot was created with limitations. She didn't need fusion, she had her suit.

"When you told us that you didn't have romantic feelings, what did you call it? The Human word for this?"

"Asexual. And Aromantic."

"Yes. Even that word has to have 'sex' in it. But when you told us this, I felt like we finally understood each other completely. You were my first friend in thousands of years. You didn't need to be a Gem or a Human, you were my Steven. And we didn't need to fuse or, to have Human sex, to prove to each other how much we cared about each other." Steven stopped playing and put the ukulele on the beach.

"You _are_ mad at me, aren't you." He said softly. Lapis leaned and put her head on his arm, as that was as high as she could reach even as they sat down.

"Not mad. Just sad. I will admit, I felt a little betrayed at first. You already could fuse with Connie, but this was something greater that we could never do." Steven moved his arm so that Lapis rested against his side and he put his arm around her.

"I didn't think that you felt that way Lapis." He said and Lapis again laughed.

"That's the funny thing. I don't. I am, like you, Aromantic. I can't quite figure out where all of these feelings are coming from, but I can at least assure you that I love you only as my dearest friend." She said.

"Welcome to being infected by Human feelings." He said and Lapis frowned.

"Do you not view yourself as Human, Steven?" She pulled away from him to look up at his face. It was sometimes easy to forget, what with his round face and bouncing curls and glittering eyes. But she remembered when he was just a child and the ageless shimmer of bloodlust that sharpened everything about him.

"When have I ever been Human Lapis? I spent a long time pretending, sometimes wanting to be Human and sometimes a Gem. But I'm neither, not even in-between. And who knows what this child will be when it's born."

"It will be Human. It won't have a Gem, it won't be able to fuse or," Lapis drifted. She could feel the muscles under his skin beginning to tighten.

"Connie can fuse. I can make things happen."

"Then why did you do this?" Lapis asked. Steven smiled, but it was something akin to a grin she had seen on a Diamond's face. He looked down at her and she shivered.

"For the same reason my mom did." Lapis found herself unable to speak. Greg's voice broke over them and suddenly she could hear the rushing of the ocean again.

"Hey Steven, are you ready to go? This old man needs to get rolling home." In a blink, Steven softened and stood up, bringing Lapis with him. He bent down and picked up his ukulele before sliding it back into Lion's mane.

"Good night Lapis Lazuli." He said in a sing-song voice and walked over to his father. It was then that Lapis realized he was barefoot. How long had he gone without shoes?

"Good night Steven Universe." She said and watched him go.

"So." Greg started as Steven squeezed himself into the van and shut the door. "How does it feel knowing you're going to be a father soon?" Steven winced with a smile as he put on his seatbelt.

"Ah man Dad, don't start. It's totally freaking me out."

"Well, do you want to talk about this wedding then?"

"Uggghh." Steven leaned over till his forehead rested on the dash.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but not this."

"Is there anything I have to do?" Steven turned, his head still on the dash, and looked at Greg.

"Actually, yeah. You have to meet with Connie's dad. Have a good ol' chat about how you're buying his daughter for me."

"What." Greg sounded panicked and he stared at Steven for longer than was reasonable for someone driving. Steven laughed and sat up while his dad looked back out to the road.

"Dad, seriously, it is incredibly racist that you would even believe me. In this day and age after all."

"Steven, so help me, I have been having to deal with alien rocks for most of my life, I don't even know what passes for normal on this planet."

"You'll only have a meeting with Connie's dad, drink some tea or something. You'll talk about matching us up and everyone will agree since we're already married anyway. It's just a formality."

"And is this something that you want?"

"To be honest, not at all. But we both knew this would be the consequence so this is what's happening. It's worth it."

"Frankly, I thought Connie was a lesbian."

"What the hell Dad!" Steven and Greg laughed.

"If you're happy, then I'm happy for you." Greg said.

"Thanks Dad."

"And you're sure that nothing will happen to you when the baby is born?" Steven went silent as he mulled the question over.

"I have to ask you something first."

"Go ahead."

"How long was, Mom pregnant with me?" Greg first looked surprised, then thoughtful.

"The normal baby baking amount."

"Connie and I wondered about that. With R-. Mom's healing abilities and, you know, being a Gem, we don't think it shouldn't have taken that long. My aging is slowed due to being half-gem but I should have been created a lot faster for the same reason. I believe Mom spent most of her time connecting me to her Gem."

"So what does that mean?"

"Basically, what it means for me, is that since I didn't have to use my gem to get Connie pregnant, I should be ok."

"This is all really weird." Greg blew out a breath and rubbed the bald part of his head.

"Tell me about it. And Connie can't fuse the entire time."

"Which means you're on a ban?" Steven chuckled.

"Not really. I wanted to do a few experiments now that I'm back."

"Finally going to try fusion with the Crystal Gems?"

"Eh, not just yet. I was thinking of Jasper."

"I'm, not comfortable with that idea Steven."

"Why?"

"Well, uh, you see." Greg coughed and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I mean, you and Lapis made an awfully scary fusion. I can't imagine what you'd make with, her."

"Does no one like Heliotrope? Everyone gets so jumpy about it." Steven leaned back in his seat as Lion poked his head up from the back. Greg glanced over and watched as Steven absently started to pet the large animal.

"I don't think they've ever seen a Gem like that before."

"They had never seen anything like me before either."

"It's all new to them."

"What about you?"

"You're my son, Steven. Every parent goes through this; maybe not to this scale, but children are always something different. Heads up about that by the way." Steven smiled and began to purposefully pet Lion, who know leaned into his body.

"Thanks Dad." There was a brief pause. "I could try another Human fusion and we could fuse." Greg felt his heart stop and jump into his throat.

"No offense Steven, but since I last tried fusion with your mother, I don't think I'd be able to not find that completely weird."

"You know it's not always about-"

"Yes but in the case of your mother it _was_ so I don't think that's a good idea. Plus, we already fused and made you."

"So I was never really Rose Quartz to begin with."

"Do you think if you fused with Pearl, you'd be Rainbow Quartz still?" Both men stared into the distance as they thought.

"This would answer, and create, so many questions." Steven said quietly.

"Should we turn around?" Greg asked with a laugh.

"Nah, we need to sleep." Steven tapped his chin. "But that does beg the question, are my fusions different because I'm part Human? Like, if Rose had fused with Lapis, would they have made Heliotrope?"

"No way to tell Sport." Before the silence could settle in again, Greg put in one of his newer tapes and the two men sung along. Waiting for Steven to return had seemed like eternity, but sitting in the van with him back, Greg felt like he was at the top of a rollercoaster. He was just about to tip over the edge and go faster than he had ever before in his life, and he wondered if he'd survive to see the end.

Certainly, he didn't know what it meant if Steven was calling his mother by her name.

Greg had to wonder what happened while the two of them had gone travelling.

Dreams never made much sense to Steven.

There was a chess table. The pieces were the standard black and white, but the black pieces were made of something with a sharp luster, and the white pieces seemed to be crumbling. The chessboard looked to be inlaid with mother-of-pearl and obsidian. Steven, or at least the perspective he was dreaming from, sat on the black side of the board.

A woman in shadows sat across from him.

"White goes first Steven." It was a voice he knew and a hand came out of the shadows to grab a pawn. The piece was set down with a soft click.

"You shouldn't have so many pieces." The woman in the shadows laughed, but her hand waved over the board and her pawns crumbled into powder, leaving the one she moved still standing.

"You are right Steven. These have all long since died." A finger tapped the top of the rook to Steven's right. "Amethyst, of course." The finger tapped now moving across the back row. "A knight, Ruby. A bishop, Sapphire. My queen," The finger stroked down the side of the piece. "Greg. And myself." The hand gestured to the last three pieces. "My bishop, knight, and rook all in one, Pearl."

"And your last pawn?"

"Do we need to make it that clear?" The woman leaned forward. Steven could easily reach across, to stroke her face, to pull on any one of the massive pink curls that floated everywhere.

"Did you ever love me Mom?" He asked and picked up the white pawn.

"I thought it was obvious."

Steven woke up to the sound of laughing.

The apartment still had the same thinning, cream colored carpet it had when they first rented it. Steven stood in the sunny patch, warm from the light pouring through the small hallway window, and wondered if he should buy his dad a townhouse; one like what the Maheswarans had. But honestly, Steven didn't like the thought of his father rambling around a lot of space with nothing to keep him company.

Maybe the baby would help a lot of things.

"So I guess this means you can call me Dad if you want to."

"Oh stop it. You're going to make me cry!"

"Not in the batter Connie!" The sound of laughter again and Steven couldn't help the smile. His father and his wife, carrying his child. It was almost a picturesque moment, and Steven gripped the front of his shirt. Under his knuckles he could feel the warmth and the hardness of his gem. Right now, he so badly wanted to fuse with Connie, to feel whole and normal.

But that was going to have to wait.

Stepping into the kitchen, he saw Connie handing a bowl to his father, who stood over the stove. Connie had her hair in the typical braid, but she was finally wearing loose fitting clothes. When she was wearing her more practical clothes, she looked bound. Like this, she look inherently more relaxed. He padded over to her and picked her up, kissing her neck as she squealed.

"Good morning wife!" He said and set her down. Connie laughed and turned around, putting a hand to his face.

"Good morning husband." She gave him a warm smile and Steven began to feel a little better.

"Good morning son." Greg said, slightly sarcastically, as he began pouring batter onto a griddle.

"And good morning to you father." Steven walked over and kissed his father's cheek.

"Did you want pancakes son? I also have some eggs in the fridge." Greg offered as Steven sat down at the small kitchen table.

"I'll take whatever you're making." He said. Connie took a seat across from him and her hands went into her pockets.

"Are you eating again then?" She asked.

"Again?" Greg parroted the question and Connie turned to him.

"Steven wanted to see how much of the Gem DNA was in him and whether or not he could survive like one. So he stopped eating for a while."

"How'd that go?"

"Well, after the hunger pains subsided, I was fine for about five weeks. Then I had to eat something again. So far, I can go indefinitely without sleep and can withstand extreme temperatures of about plus or minus twenty degrees the human body temperature for who knows how long." Steven said. He watched his father blink before flipping over pancakes.

"So you've got some making up to do right?" Greg said and Connie laughed. Steven watched her for a moment and leaned across the table.

"Connie. What are you eating?" He asked as Connie put her fingers in her mouth. She turned to him and raised her eyebrows.

"Hmm?" She pulled her hand away and looked horrified.

"Oh no." She stood up and examined her pants pocket. "Oh no." She groaned. Greg walked over and set down two plates of pancakes.

"What's going on?" He asked and Steven shrugged.

"I have pica. I'm eating sand." Connie said and sat back down heavily, defeated.

"Seriously? You're eating sand?" Steven said and laughed. Connie rubbed her eyes and Greg walked around, collecting butter and syrup before sitting down with his own plate.

"I don't get it. I don't even remember picking up the sand. Who knows how long I've been eating it this time." Connie blanched but picked up a fork and began to cut the pancakes.

"Did you talk to your mom about it?" Steven asked.

"She's the one who pointed it out to me. She said it's fine as long as I'm not eating dirty sand." She said.

"Have you called an OB yet?" Greg asked, smearing butter onto his pancakes.

"Not yet. I'm really not looking forward to it. It's going to be weird, explaining everything."

"Well, I mean, at least Beach City finally knows that the Gems are aliens. So, there's that." Steven said and the three of them laughed.

"Yeah, that's going to get me a doctor for sure," Connie set down her fork and waved her hands, changing her voice as she spoke. "Hello, do you have any experience with alien/human fetuses? Because my husband is half-alien and I don't know if regular testing is going to work."

"Hey, you made the choice to marry the half-alien because humans couldn't keep up." Steven countered. Connie picked her fork back up and pointed it at him.

"Also your fault."

"Have you guys thought of names yet?" Greg asked and took a bite. Steven and Connie looked up and stared at each other.

"Rock puns?" Connie offered. Steven grinned.

"Rock puns."


	4. Chapter 3

After the breakfast dishes had been cleared away, everyone had somewhere to be. Connie and her mother were going all the way to Empire City to look for a wedding dress, and Greg was going to have his "talk" with Connie's dad.

"We'll meet up for dinner okay Bud?"

Steven decided to walk with Lion to the Temple. It was a good way to collect himself and see how things had changed while he had been gone.

He stopped into the Big Donut and was surprised to see two new teenagers standing behind the counter. Of course, as with many small towns, many of the young people had left Beach City after college. Some of them would come back, people who had family too dug in to move like Kiki and Peedee, but most would stay away.

Especially after everything that happened.

"Can I help you sir?" One of the young girls asked. Steven realized he had been zoned out and he smiled at her.

"Two of your favorite donuts please."

Outside, Steven tossed a donut to Lion as he felt his cellphone buzz in his pocket. Lion gulped the treat and started to nose the bag as Steven checked the message. It opened with a picture of a large jar of sand.

"Look what Garnet got for me in case I get sick. Who gets homesick over just a weekend? XD"

Steven texted back, using one hand as he held aloft the bag of containing his donut.

"The Gems work in mysterious ways."

"Alright, knock it off." Steven put his phone back in his pocket and nudged Lion in the chest with his foot. The pink beast sat down and stared as Steven ate the donut quickly.

Over the course of his walk, Steven noticed the odd contrast of change and decay. Beach City always brought in just enough revenue to keep the buildings and population maintained. Many of the same people still lived here – or at least the same older people – but there was this gradual updating that happened during every off-season.

Mayor Dewey thought that more people, including his son, would come back even during the off-season once the Gems had finished fixing the statue on the Temple. It was like that one stone troll under a bridge that Connie wanted to go see.

He spied Vidalia on the boardwalk, standing with another middle aged woman. Steven wondered if he should broach the subject of dating again with his father, but he just felt his insides tighten.

"You can't say anything Rose, you left him and you would have outlived him anyway." Steven said and put his hand on his gem. "So you don't get claim on him."

They had gone so many places over the past five years; Brasil was first, then Antartica on a tip where they made the first of their substantial discoveries, followed by quick trips to Suid-Afrika, al-Urdun, Bharata, and finally Zhongguo.

Coming back to Beach City had been, odd. It was a reverse culture shock, and they had been totally unprepared for it. Both Connie and Steven had been so excited about the prospect of returning home, but after all of the colors and smells, and the heat, home seemed to be more washed out. Connie was adjusting better, but Steven had had a lot to deal with on their trip and being home now left him feeling unsatisfied

And now with a wedding impending and the baby on the horizon, Steven wondered if he could just leave. It's not like he wouldn't be able to come back quickly, but he couldn't leave Connie alone to deal with everything on her own.

Lion grumbled and Steven stopped, looking around. He had managed to walk up to the house attached to the Temple without even realizing it.

"Oh, Steven!" Pearl jumped as she opened the door, seemingly unaware that he had arrived. "Did you need something?"

"I was hoping to catch Peridot actually." Steven said and almost laughed as he saw Pearl's face crinkle for a moment.

"Yes, well, she's just inside. How's Connie doing?" Steven moved past her as he stepped inside. Pearl shut the door, causing Lion to grumble again as it shut in his face.

"She's fine. She seemed pretty excited to go dress shopping." Pearl moved around him and toward the kitchen. Despite protesting for thousands of years, after living more than two decades with a Human Gem that required sustenance, Pearl had finally been worn down enough to start drinking tea regularly. It had, though, become a slight obsession.

"Oh, I just remembered." Steven said, rather loudly and rather abruptly. Pearl jumped as she filled up the kettle and watched as Steven dashed out of the house. He came back just as Pearl clicked on the stove.

"What is it?" She asked, slowly drying her hands on a small towel.

"I brought this back for you, from Suid-Afrika. It's a red rooibos that wasn't necessarily local, but is traditional to the people there." Steven handed her a small tin and Pearl took it carefully into her hands. She opened it, lifting it to her face so she could smell the now thorn-less stems.

"Thank you very much Steven. I think I'll brew some of this." Pearl walked back into the kitchen and Steven went to sit at the now extended island.

"Pearl?"

"Yes Steven?"

"What do you think will happen when I die?" Steven saw the tea cups fall but was still mildly surprised when he saw them explode apart. Pearl looked at her hands and Steven wondered if she had yet registered that she was no longer holding the cups. But then, without a word, Pearl bent down gracefully and bubbled the broken pieces of china.

"To be honest, I can tell you that I've never really thought about it." Pearl walked over to the trash can, removed the bubble from the broken pieces, and walked back to the pantry to retrieve two more.

"Do you think Rose will come back?" Pearl now paused as she reached up for the cups.

"I would not have her at the expense of you Steven." She said, her voice coming out with no inflection.

"That's not what I meant." Pearl sighed, finally brought down the two cups just as the kettle began to whistle. Steven watched her as, with her back to him, Pearl clicked off the stove and set about making the tea. When she turned around, she deposited their plain, white tea pot down with two mismatched cups.

"Technically speaking, Peridot and I believe that your gem will sustain you for a very long time. You will most likely not experience the lifespan of a normal Gem, but certainly you can last for thousands of years, much longer than any Human outside of their mythological references.

"However, we don't know what would happen if you were to suffer a mortal wound. Age and disease might not kill you, but since your physical form is more tangible than a Gem's, it could be assumed that your body is an extension of your gem and therefore when one is damaged beyond repair, so is the other.

"Either way, I don't think Rose is ever coming back." Pearl came around to take a seat next to Steven, crossing her legs at the ankles.

"Do you really consider me a Gem?"

"Of course. You have all of the traits of a Gem, all of our powers, and you can fuse successfully with a Gem. That makes you one of us."

"But am I Human?"

"Certainly not. I understand that we reared you with an understanding that you were half and half but Steven, I mean really," Pearl laughed and reached to pour the tea. "You are more than Human, so you are a Gem."

"You don't really like Humans do you."

"Hmm, no. Not on a general level. I love you, of course, and Connie. Greg, well, Greg has become a good friend to me. I will mourn his passing." Steven watched the steam curl as Pearl poured the red liquid into their cups. "There have been Humans I was fond of before, and I'm sure I will find entertaining ones later on. But I am very much a Homeworld Gem, if you understand my meaning."

"Do you think I'm just another form of Rose?" Steven asked, taking the small cup into his much larger hands.

"Not since I saw Heliotrope. You might have the Pink Diamond, but just like how she became Rose Quartz, you are something else. You are Steven."

They both sat in contemplative silence as they sipped the tea. Steven did not like how hot it was, but Pearl seemed to have no problem drinking it straight away. He waited till she had taken a sizeable mouthful.

"So, did you want to try fusing to see if we made Rainbow Quartz?" Tea spurted from Pearl like blood from a torn artery. The color of the tea helped with the image and Steven laughed regardless. Her thin fingers flew up to cover her mouth, and she swallowed heavily the remaining drops of tea.

"Steven!"

"Come on Pearl, let's go fight a monster. For old time's sake." Steven stood up and held out his hand. Pearl looked unsure, but stood up as well.

"But Steven, the tea." She said. Steven pulled a face.

"It's fine. Amethyst will take care of it." Pearl sighed and put her hand into Steven's.

"I'll need to buy a whole new set." She muttered as Steven joyfully pulled her outside.

"Now I have to tell you," Steven said as they walked down to the beach. "Part of this is an experiment about how organic my nature really is." Pearl could barely hear what he was saying. If she had blood, it would be pounding in her head. If she had a heart, she would have said it had turned into a bird.

 _Just breathe._ She didn't need to, but she did it anyway. Has his hand always been this warm? Rose was the embodiment of warmth, but she was never warm to the touch. Gems were cold by nature.

He bowed to her, still holding her hand. She bowed in return, she could never stifle the subservient thread. She can't see him dance, she doesn't know what she's doing with her feet.

 _I love you._ She sees Rose, and shuts her eyes. It's not Rose, it will never again be Rose.

 _I love you._ She sees a boy giving her flowers for a Human holiday called "Mother's Day".

 _I love you_. She sees a boy giving her a kiss every time before abandoning her for another girl.

 _I love you_. She sees a boy drawing picture after picture, of her, of them all.

 _I love you_. She sees a small boy, a baby boy, resting in her arms as she cries.

She opens her eyes as Steven hugs her to him, his warmth blanketing her.

"I love you."

Laughter. Joy. But mostly, she can feel heat.

Obsidian walked to the warp pad, briefly looking at the cooling tea set. In that pause, the warp pad activates and the startled figures of Amethyst and Jasper appear.

"Who are _you_?" Jasper asked. Obsidian laughed and Amethyst's face relaxed.

"Oh, P must've fused with one of the other Gems."

"With Steven." Obsidian corrected and both Gems looked shocked again. Obsidian smiled, at once realizing that she stood well above the two of them. "I'm Obsidian."

"You fused with _Steven_? Before _me_? No fair!" Amethyst looked genuinely angry and Obsidian felt a twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry. Steven wanted to see if we would make Rainbow Quartz, since it's the same gems."

"That is definitely not Rainbow Quartz." Amethyst said and Jasper just looked puzzled.

"How different do I look?

"I mean, there are some similarities. Like the eyes, and the height. But other than that, you look totally different."

" _What_ are you?" Jasper asked. Obsidian tilted her head and tapped her mouth with a hand.

"From what I understand, Obsidian is a type of rock produced from lava that cools rapidly with very little crystal formation."

"That, is not a gem."

"Well, technically, neither is a pearl, but even Gems that are farmed versus mined are considered Gems. Apparently, this is what happens when a Gem of a more organic nature fuses with an extremely organic Gem." Obsidian turned back to Amethyst. "Am I pretty?" Amethyst laughed and shook her head.

"You'll have to see for yourself." Amethyst put her hands behind her head as she skipped down the warp pad.

"Where are you going?" Jasper asked as she too stepped off the pad, passing Obsidian as she walked onto it.

"Somewhere to see what I can do!" Obsidian laughed as she warped away.

When she felt something solid under her, Obsidian looked around. She smiled as she saw the large red woods tower around her. She had no memories of her own, but the emotion and shadows that played at her mind from both Pearl and Steven delighted her. One of the main reasons for coming was the serenity these woods held, as well as a very large, placid lake.

Obsidian walked through the woods, running her hands over the bark of the trees. She could feel the rough texture that was both familiar and alien to her, which caused her to giggle. The act of laughing sparked something inside of her, and she took off.

Running through the woods, Obsidian thought about the canopy above her, and how sunlight trickled through the heavy, verdant leaves to glint off some buried core of her skin. She stopped abruptly, digging into the soft ground under her. She held up her hands, only two, and raised them up in the broken sunlight. Her skin was almost translucent; it shined – no, it _glowed_ – with a rich ebony color. It was a color darker than black that seemed like it should be cold and completely smooth.

She _was_ smooth, as Obsidian noted when she rubbed her hands against her face, but she was also warm.

An igneous rock that still held some of the primordial heat of a volcano.

Softly, Obsidian explored her face. She did have four eyes, much the same as she did when she was. Obsidian frowned as some pain occurred deep within her. Had she existed ever before this moment? She had, and she hadn't. There was a memory of her, who was not her.

Obsidian shook her head and made her way into the endless forest. She soon made it to the lake and walked slowly to the edge. Taking a breath, Obsidian looked down.

In the silver reflection of the lake, she had a better view of herself. She was, of course, a glassy black from head to toe. Her body form was similar to Opal's, in that she was thinner on top with wide hips and sturdy legs. Her hair fell in shimmering curls, blending in with the glinting colors that shone in Pearl's gem.

Upon better examination, Obsidian realized her chest was completely flat and her shoulders were broader than Pearl was used to. Her top was a triangle, the point at her throat before tying behind her neck, and it tied again around her waist like an apron. She was wearing pants with a triangle on each leg, the point resting at her knees. She wore vambraces, the points now at each wrist. All of her clothing glimmered like Pearl's gem, shining in a different way than her skin.

She had become the star herself. Obsidian laughed and shook her head.

 _AaaaaROOOOOOOOOooooooooo_

Obsidian froze as the cry shivered through the air. She knew the sound of a wolf, and that was not it. She turned, drawing her weapons as she did. Banging the spear to the shield, they crashed together in a flash of light to become glinting shield. The edge, she knew, was razor sharp.

But where was the threat?

The sounds of trees snapping made Obsidian leap away from the lake. Out into the clearing heaved a large beast, shakily resembling the dire wolves from over 10,000 years ago. Its hackles were raised, but they were also sharped to a point. Something liquid dripped from its jowls, and it only had one roving blue eye; there was the gem.

Crouching down, Obsidian lifted the shield and kept her stance wide. She slowly slid one foot behind the other, ready to propel herself forward. Watching her movements, the Gem-Wolf also hunched down, its lips rippling back as it growled.

For a second, neither moved. But the Gem-Wolf had no cunning, and it pushed forward, snapping at her in preparation. Yelling, Obsidian dashed forward but spun around the Gem-Wolf, slicing into its side with the shield. The beast yelped but did not turn from where it stopped. Instead, it barked.

Hundreds of large spikes shot out from the Gem-Wolf's back. Obsidian raised her shield, but she didn't extend it wide enough. One of the spikes buried itself into her left arm. There was panic inside her and she felt the beginnings of herself start to unravel.

"I'm fine Pearl. Not now." She pushed the words through gritted teeth and yanked out the spike with a yell. By now, the Gem-Wolf had turned and was letting out its rumbling growl.

The eye was on the right side, which is why the thing relied on a blind attack, and meant that it had a massive blind spot on the left. Feinting to the right, the Gem-Wolf surged forward to snap at her. As quickly as she could, she whipped her body to the side and went to cut into the beast's chest on the left.

She felt the shield cut into the monster's skin just as she felt teeth pierce her right arm.

This thing had some sort of future sight, it must be a corrupted Sapphire.

With a grunt, Obsidian pushed the shield a little deeper till the Gem-Wolf let go of her arm. She then dropped to the ground and rolled away, clutching the shield clumsily to her chest.

"I have to poof it." She said as she stood. The Gem-Wolf had its back to her, so at least she knew what to expect. Quickly, she encased herself in a translucent, black bubble just as the spikes smashed into the surface. She dropped the bubble and as the Gem-Wolf turned, she threw the shield.

In a dark version of fetch, the Gem-Wolf opened its jaws, no doubt in an attempt to catch it. But the force of Obsidian's throw had the shield continue right through its head, continuing out the other side to crash into the woods. Both the shield and the monster poof within moments of each other.

Sighing, Obsidian went over and collected the corrupted gem, bubbling it and sending it back to the temple. "I wonder if Garnet knows about this." She said and walked back to the warp pad.


	5. Chapter 4

Obsidian made it back to the warp pad and warped quickly back to the temple. Standing in front of her, and oddly below her, was Garnet.

"You're bleeding." Garnet said. Obsidian lifted her arms and saw the rivulets of shining blue. Her head begun to spin and she fell, feeling herself split apart as she did.

Steven grabbed a thin arm before Pearl hit the ground. He pulled her to him and held her close.

"I'm okay Pearl."

"But who," She pushed against him and looked down. Bright red blood was now smeared all over her clothes. "Steven!" Pearl and Garnet led him to the couch, Pearl pulling out medical gauze and tape from her gem as Garnet wiped the wounds clean with a rag.

They worked on him in silence so Steven leaned his head back to rest it on the wall. From here, he could see how Lapis' mural had spread across the ceiling. It was still an abstract painting of space, but as she began to paint over the open area of the living room, the mural began to take on aspects of Homeworld planets.

"Does he need stitches? He usually heals faster than this." Pearl's voice pierced his eardrums and Steven closed his eyes.

"He'll be fine." Garnet said and he felt the tightening of the bandage as they wrapped the medical tape around his arms. The bite mark burned, but he didn't know if he needed to say something. He never knew exactly how much Garnet knew; if her future vision was tied to her actively looking and could therefore miss things.

"Let's not tell Connie about this." He said and the hands paused momentarily.

"Whatever you say Steven." Garnet said and Pearl stayed quiet.

After everything had gotten cleaned up, Pearl made fresh tea while Steven explained to Garnet what had happened on their impromptu mission.

"And I just can't figure out why we're still finding these gems." Steven concluded as Pearl set down a new cup of tea in front of him.

"What do you mean?" Garnet asked.

"Look, you guys had been here for thousands of years. I know you all settled in Beach City sometime in the last few hundred, but before that you were travelling, working. And then you would go out and look for corrupted gems. Exactly how many can possibly be left?"

"Well, you see Steven, Homeworld extended over multiple planets. The forces they had at their disposal were numerous and the fighting spanned over the entirety of Earth." Pearl explained.

"I understand that, but they obviously didn't send everyone. Not for this place. And the fighting had long since been over. So I'm wondering…" Steven trailed off and shook his head, choosing to instead drink his tea.

"What is it?" Pearl asked, getting slightly anxious as more muscles in Steven's face pulled together. It had been odd for her to feel muscles, the beating of a heart, and lungs that sucked in air. It had taken her ages to learn how to read Human non-verbal communications, but now it seemed so much easier. The flexing of sinew, the rush of blood to and away from the constricting muscles; Steven was thinking about something that bothered him. And she didn't think it had anything to do with the injuries he had sustained.

"I need to talk to Peridot about something. And I need Lapis to be here." Steven said and then sighed. Garnet stood up, pushing away her cup as gently as she could manage.

"I'll go."

"Thank you Garnet." Steven said and she walked way.

"Are you okay Steven?" Pearl asked when they were alone. Steven took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before picking up his cup again.

"Yeah, the bite mark burns, but I'll be fine." Pearl stared at him but didn't have any words. Being Obsidian had been, thrilling to say in the least. The projection of their bodies, as Gems, was real and tangible enough. They had to be able to interact with their environment and because of this, it allowed their environment to act upon them. To a certain degree at least. This is how Amethyst could have stomach cramps and how Rose was able to carry Steven.

But fusing was something very different. Touching the bark in the woods didn't cause her projection to simulate a feeling, but she could almost feel the atoms of flesh rub against the atoms of the tree bark. It was almost as if neurons were firing, telling her through the sensory pads in her fingers that what she was touching was a tree, instead of synthetically reading it through her projection. There was nothing artificial about her experience.

Wrapping her hands around the tea cup, Pearl pressed her hands into the china. The projection's scan showed the temperature and she knew that it was hot, but it was a manageable heat and it did not expand up through the bound radiation that made up her corporeal body. It was not, as her artificial body told her, a gem damaging heat.

But, for the first time in her very long existence, she realized that she could not feel it.

"You're thinking hard about something yourself Pearl." Pearl blinked and looked up. Steven's face had relaxed and she felt herself calm down.

"It was just a very different kind of fusion for me." She said, keeping her voice low. Still, she gave him a smile and relaxed her grip on the cup.

"Yeah, Lapis had a sort of existential crisis when she had time to think about Heliotrope." Steven leaned back and examined the bandage on his left arm.

"What's it like for you? Fusing with another Gem?"

"Well," Steven pressed down on the medical tape and turned to look at Pearl. "It's obviously something different than what you go through with other, actual Gems because I have never seen any of you so shaken after un-fusing."

"It is a little, overwhelming."

"For me, it's very similar to when I fuse with Connie, but still inherently different. Like, it feels as if I am reaching some sort of perfection, but for different reasons. I only feel powerful when I fuse with a Gem, but I feel more indestructible when I fuse with Connie." Pearl did her best to convey confusion.

"Indestructible? With a … human?" Steven smiled and shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you. It's just how I feel."

"And now we know that your fusions are different from your mother's." Steven shrugged his shoulders higher and made a face.

"I think Obsidian said it best, it has to do with the type of physical properties attached to the gem and I think the pink diamond was altered holy crap diamonds are made out of carbon and I am a carbon based life form WHERE IS PERIDOT?" Steven had slowly stood as he spoke and punctuated his thought by slamming his hands down on the counter. Pearl jumped and was thankful that she no longer had a heart.

"We're here Steven." Lapis said as the screen door creaked open. Peridot stood behind her, trying to hide. Pearl saw her flinch as Steven marched over to the pair.

"Peridot." He put his hands on Lapis's shoulders and forcefully moved her till she was standing next to him. Lapis looked perturbed as she was sliding over and said nothing. Peridot tried not to shy away. "Have you ever scanned my gem?"

The oddity of the question caused Peridot to mentally reset and she stood up straighter, simply staring at Steven with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I did. You're a common quartz." She shrugged. "I mean, besides all the Pink Diamond stuff." Peridot had been created after Pink Diamond had left the Authority, so there was obviously a lot of "stuff."

"Could you do me a favor and scan it again? Please." Steven added as he lifted his shirt. Peridot's eyes widened and she went scrambling being her. The jeans she was wearing were a bit too long for her, so she tripped on the hem as she ran. Catching herself, she picked up her screen with a triumphant laugh before scurrying back over.

After clearing her throat and composing herself, Peridot lifted her screen, a piece of tech that had been commandeered during the fight with Homeworld.

"The data available says that you are Pink Diamond, barring the recent updates to the records."

"Yes, but can you check the composition?" Peridot's shoulders sank and she let out an indignant breath.

"Fine." The screen came up again and Peridot scanned. "It's not like we're going to learn anything new, I am VERY thorough." Peridot muttered. She paused and her eyebrows drew together. "It is still a Pink Diamond. But it looks mildly corrupted."

"Corrupted?" Pearl gasped and Steven heard her chair being pushed back.

"Is it corrupted or just altered?"

"Slightly altered. The carbon structure looks," Peridot pulled a face as she thought. "Shifted."

"Like graphite." Steven said and lowered his shirt.

"I do not know what that is."

"Think pencil lead." Peridot pulled the screen up to her face and began to mutter to herself again. Steven put his hand out and stopped her.

"I need you to go research something else first." He said evenly and turned his hand over, holding it out. Peridot nodded and pushed the screen over to him. With a sigh, Steven took the screen and walked over to the sofa, moving his fingers overs the almost fuzzy feeling green radiation of device.

"Steven, you have been all over the place recently, what is all of this about?" Lapis asked as she watched Peridot follow dutifully behind Steven; she stood at the side of the sofa as he reclined and began to type on the now hovering screen.

"Jade told you about the ship we found. Connie and I also found some things in Antarctica. I need Peridot to go check them out because I think they'll help us for what's to come." Steven finished what he was doing and handed the screen back to Peridot. "These are the coordinates of the crash sites. Take whoever you need to as I'm not certain about the safety." Peridot briefly looked over the screen before dissolving it and pulling the frame back into her suit. It was so odd to see her hands covered now, after all that time spent outside of her suit.

"Should I go now?" She asked. Steven spread his arms down the length of the back of the sofa.

"I would prefer that, but if you have things to do first I completely understand."

"I have nothing _pressing_ ," Peridot glanced quickly at Lapis, and Steven noted it. "I can go now and take Zircon." Steven smiled.

"Thank you Peridot." Without another word, Peridot turned and walked toward the warp pad. After she had disappeared, Lapis turned on Steven.

"Steven, what is this?" She asked, her voice becoming tight. Steven's head once again lowered and he shook it from side to side, as if stretching his neck. "Why aren't you telling us anything?" Steven brought up his head slowly and leveled his gaze at her.

"Because I don't _know_ anything yet Lapis. Connie and I have a bunch of theories but no actual proof. We don't want to start getting the Gems involved at all until we have either definitive answers or better questions. But we have nothing but our gut on these things and we need some time to figure it out." He said and Pearl could see the muscles in his arms and neck jump.

"But Steven, you can trust us, even if it's just theories." Pearl said and walked over, keeping her hands clasped in front of her. Steven groaned and rubbed his face with both hands.

"It's not about trust Pearl."

"It's about protection." Steven pulled his hands down his face and looked over at Garnet.

"I would never presume so much." He said sarcastically and Garnet smiled.

"You're right about the corrupted gems." Steven slapped his hands on his legs and stood up.

"Well thank goodness for future vision!" He said.

"What about the corrupted gems?" Pearl asked and swiveled her head between Garnet and Steven.

"They're breeding. Like Rose but with less intention and skill." Steven answered. "That's why there seems to be a never ending supply of them. And why a lot of them don't, and won't, have gems."

"But that's not possible." Pearl said and began to tap her fingers against her lips.

"Apparently with lower lifeforms, it is." Steven scratched at his head with a hand, finding that his fingers were becoming tangled quicker than normal. "And there is one other thing. The change in Rose's gem."

"Yes, please, enlighten us. What was all that about." Lapis crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Steven paused and looked back at her. And he found that he could extract his hand a little bit easier.

"Lapis, I'm sorry. I've got a lot on my mind and I _do_ want to share it with you, but I can't even make enough sense of them to do that." He held out his hand to her. "Please, forgive me?"

Forgiveness was a funny thing with Gemkind. When a Gem can live for forever, what does forgiveness even mean? Feuds were a fashion statement; with how vast of an empire Homeworld had, a Gem could go ages without seeing a bitter rival. But everything like that was easy; it was easy to hate and it was easy to love, so it all became a matter of choice.

Lapis put her hand in his. "I forgive you Steven." He smiled and squeezed her hand, and she enjoyed the warmth of him.

After he let go of her, Steven turned to Pearl.

"We didn't make Obsidian." He said. Pearl's eyebrows pulled together.

"How do you mean? She called herself Obsidian."

"She was confused. Obsidian, plain obsidian, is just black. We looked like oil. We were Rainbow Obsidian." Pearl's face softened and she smiled.

"Oh so Rose-"

"No." Steven cut her off briskly. "Pearl, you were always the shimmer in Rainbow Quartz. I have no doubt about that."

Pearl never could get a handle on the tears. Call it a defect.

"So what was all of that about your gem?" Lapis asked as Pearl rushed into the kitchen to hide. Steven began to pull back his hair and dug around in his pocket for a hair tie.

"I wanted to know about yours first."

"What do you mean?" Lapis felt herself cringe and she focused on Steven's hands as he somehow managed to pull the massive amount of hair through a small piece of elastic.

"You are all called Gems, but very few of your actual gems are crystalline in nature. Now, this is probably an example of a difference in Human and Gem language, but I wonder what the hierarchy of the gems mean."

"You're talking about the difference between mining, harvesting, and cultivating I take it?"

"I guess so. Your gem is actually a rock, in Earth terms, and you were harvested, is that right?"

"Yes." Lapis relaxed herself and moved to sit in the small armchair cattycorner to the sofa.

"From what I've been told, the upper epsilon of Gemkind are mined. They are the more inorganic and are physically stronger. Thus the Diamond Authority. And Gems like Pearl," Steven drifted as he looked into the kitchen.

"They were always weaker, yes." Garnet interjected. She hadn't moved much from her post near the door and Steven wondered if she had her own secrets about what was happening. Steven decided to ignore that, for now, and continued.

"Well here's the thing, my mother was Pink Diamond. She had one of the most inorganic and strongest Gems in the whole empire. And yet it has now synthesized with an organic being. I think the structure of it was altered but still bonded because Humans are carbon based life forms.

"Graphite is an interesting metal. It can be soft and brittle like lead, or it can be bullet proof even when it's produced like a thin mesh." Steven sat back down as he spoke and Lapis saw him prod mindlessly at the bandage on his right arm.

"So your gem isn't a pink diamond?"

"I think it's _almost_ a pink diamond. It's also _almost_ graphite."

"And what does this all mean?" Steven stopped messing with his bandages and started to fidget.

"I don't know. It raises questions about fusions for me though. When I fused with Pearl-"

"I was going to ask." Lapis interrupted and Steven smiled.

"She's my mom, what can I say?" Lapis smiled back and shook her head.

"Go on."

"Well, Rainbow Obsidian seemed to be a normal, run of the mill fusion. She reminds me a lot of Sardonyx actually." Steven looked over at Garnet who nodded.

"So nothing like Heliotrope." Lapis didn't like the hitch she heard in her voice, nor did she like the frown that crossed Steven's face.

"Lapis, Heliotrope is as close to a perfect fusion as I think I can get. The only reason why everyone has a problem with it is because we were both very, very angry when we fused the first time in front of them." Lapis felt her lip tremble as Steven spoke and she looked down. "Don't you remember our actual first time?"

There was a lot of fear to overcome. There was a lot of mistrust. Oddly enough, it was Peridot who reached out to her. To make her feel more at home on the awful, isolated rock they inhabited. Their fusion had been full of terror as Lapis felt herself become bound.

Steven had suggested going to Rose's fountain. She had pointed out that her Gem was fine, but Steven had insisted that she wasn't. They stayed there for three weeks before a surprise embrace fused them.

They had been flying, laughing, joking. Lapis tossed him into the air and caught him in a spin.

One spin, and suddenly the air felt different.

The body felt different. There was a moment of panic and then the split. The two of them fell from the sky and plummeted into the fountain.

But for that brief second, eyes had seen their reflection. The body was a pillar of black with red shimmering flakes. Large iridescent wings held the powerful body aloft. It was foreign, it was beautiful, and it never wanted to stop being apart.

Lapis shook herself as she pulled herself back to the present.

"So what do you think would happen if you fused with a mined Gem?"

"I don't know. After how it felt being Heliotrope, and with all of the drama that happened with Garnet fusing with the other Crystal Gems a few years ago," Steven sighed loudly and Lapis laughed. "Let's just say I don't know what would happen if I fused with Garnet. No offense." Garnet waved a hand at the comment. "Plus, I think I offended Amethyst by fusing with Pearl first."

"Pearl wouldn't have liked it if you had picked Amethyst over her." Lapis said.

"Should have gone for Opal then." Garnet replied. Lapis and Steven both laughed and Pearl walked into the living room.

"I would have been perfectly fine if you had fused with Amethyst first. Though goodness knows what kind of trouble you two would get into." She said, keeping her face turned and raised away from him. Steven grinned at Lapis behind Pearl's back, and Lapis snorted.

"Well, either way, I think I'll try fusing with Amethyst first. She's an Earth Gem anyway, so it might be easier than say Garnet or Jasper."

"Oooooh!" Pearl turned quickly. "Don't you dare fuse with that, that, behemoth!"

"Do you think Carnelian would mind?" Steven asked and Pearl's face turned blue. She puffed out her cheeks and sat down forcefully on another seat.

"Amethyst will be thrilled. Don't be jealous Pearl." Garnet said evenly. Pearl turned her flushed face on the other Gem.

"I am not jealous!"

Steven pulled himself away as quickly as he could, even though Garnet informed him that his father would not be joining him for dinner, his conversation with Connie's dad was running long. Greg confirmed this two minutes and forty-three seconds later with a phone call.

Still, Steven said he needed to call Connie and wanted to have some privacy for it and no, Pearl, he would not go into his room at the temple.

And off he went, walking through the night back to Greg's empty apartment. Perhaps it _was_ time for the old man to start dating again.

As he walked, he thought. There were lists and numbers, things the two of them had memorized and dared not write down. Things that needed to be checked and double checked. Precautions had to be taken. Backup plans needed to be established.

The next six months were going to go by so painfully, Steven just knew it.

"Hello Steven." Steven and Lion both jumped at the noise. Steven relaxed as he heard the familiar giggle before a figure in flowing robes glowed to life.

"Hello Lex." Steven said and Lion stalked off.

"I am most pleased by this name you have given me. Your Human language does not suit my given appellation." Ulexite hovered and Steven began to question if all Gems capable of future sight floated.

"No, we do not." Lex lowered herself to the ground and stood on pale white feet.

"You are very conspicuous." Steven stated.

"I am aware, but we have fifty-four seconds before someone arrives to see me." Still, Lex changed and took the form of a human teenage male, oddly reminiscent of a younger Sour Cream with the pale skin and white hair.

"How do you even manage to have conversations with people who don't have future sight?" Steven asked, to which Lex shrugged.

"Having conversations with people who do is very boring. I like being ahead of you."

"Yeah? You won't like it so much when I tell everyone you exist."

"You won't. I'd know."

"You don't know everything."

"That is true." They both started walking again.

"Do you have anything more on the threat? Or the baby?" Lex shook his head sadly and Steven started to chew on the inside of his cheek.

It was fairly obvious to see the allegories between the Homeworld Gems and the Crystal Gems. Jasper was a fully formed Gem who had been mined with precision and then polished whereas Amethyst had been, in Jasper's words, "overcooked". Peridot was a deviation to Pearl's intended purpose of being a personal assistant; an adjustment to fulfill the requirement for a Gem that was technically proficient. Pearls were no longer even being cultivated or farmed, instead they had been modified into Gem caregivers called Mother of Pearl. But Lapis and Garnet were not opposites, and Steven wondered about them both; who now existed to act as their upgrades?

Connie and Steven had met Ulexite in Brasil. She was an upgraded Sapphire, and it showed. Her future sight was so powerful that she could choose to simply not exist in the present. She was limitless and yet bound, because even Homeworld technology wasn't perfect. But no Gem that Steven had ever met had even heard of a Ulexite.

"So why are you here?" Steven asked finally.

"You have a question that I can answer." Lex said and Steven scoffed.

"Oh?"

"Yes. Your child, it will not be born a monster like the beasts you have encountered."


	6. Chapter 5

Steven wept.

~~Meanwhile~~

Connie sat in the passenger seat, holding the jar of sand in her lap. The car drove along smoothly and the faint threads of some classical piece flowed out of the radio.

"So, Connie," Her mother cleared her throat and Connie looked over at her. "How was your trip?" Connie smiled and looked back down at the jar; it was a nice gesture but certainly odd.

"It was good. Definitely different." Connie shook her head, clearing her vision of faintly recalled memories. "Bharata wasn't at all what I expected."

"I am glad that you got to go, even if you didn't make it to my hometown." Connie laughed and caught her mother smiling out of the corner of her eye.

"Mom?"

"Mmm?"

"Did you and Dad ever want to have more-" Connie felt as if she was suddenly, and forcefully, pushed from the side. Her head was a few seconds behind her neck and it slammed into the side of the car as it too was pushed roughly.

As Connie's eyes shut from the impact, her movement was abruptly stopped. Her head snapped back the other way and it was then that she finally heard the noise of glass shattering. When she opened her eyes, Connie knew that she was dazed as everything tilted nauseously and there was a haze. Something warm started to drip into her eye and she began to fumble with the seatbelt.

As soon as she got it unbuckled, Connie flipped over to look at her mother.

"Mom? Mom. Mām̐!" She didn't touch her for fear of a neck injury but her hands shook as she tried to look for a sign of life. With a groan, Priyanka shifted and Connie let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm going to see what happened okay?" Connie turned and braced herself as she kicked out the crumpled door. Huffing, Connie heaved herself out of the car and looked around. She could now hear the sound of panicked screaming and various types of alarms going off. Steadying herself, Connie took a few steps away from the car and looked around.

They had been on the highway, and it was a guardrail that had stopped the car from being pushed into the grassy median. Now, there were other cars stopped, but not in any orderly fashion. Some were flipped over. Some were squashed as if they had been stepped on by an elephant.

A roar sent a shiver up Connie's spine.

Connie turned and saw what had attacked their car, and it was charging for her.

Without hesitating, Connie put her hand on her bracelet. As if she were drawing a bow across the strings of a violin, Connie grasped a handle and pulled. In seconds, she had unsheathed Rose's sword and stood ready as the corrupted gem thundered closer to her.

"HA!" Connie flipped over the large gembeast and twisted to extend her arm out. With a thrust, she jammed the blade behind the crest of the creature and removed it as she fell into an arc toward the ground. The corrupted gem bellowed and turned, giving Connie a good look at it.

The thing looked like a large beetle, with one large, curved horn protruding from the front. But behind its head was a fanned crest, like something a dinosaur would have. The back was smooth, without segments and looked like a scarab. She had not seen a gem.

Connie braced herself again as the gembeast shook itself and bellowed again. She knew that at the very least, pulling her weapon out of the bracelet would have triggered an alarm back at the Temple, so she at most had to wait till someone responded.

Hopefully she could poof the corrupt gem herself before that happened.

"Have at ye!" Connie yelled and the beast reared. It came charging at her again and Connie tried to decide where to strike next. If the thing was armored like a beetle, she didn't have many options.

When the beast got close enough, Connie dipped down to try and swing at it from the underside, but the beast had decided to attack with its horn and had lowered its head. Connie clashed against the protrusion and, because she hadn't expected it, her arm constricted in a spasm with the shock of the hit. Rolling away, she managed to save herself from the thin, piercing legs.

"Heads up!" Connie stood up just as a gem studded whip came down and wrapped around the gembeast behind the crest. As it reared again, Amethyst pulled and raised it higher onto its back legs. Connie rushed forward, pushing hard on the balls of her feet as she jammed the blade of the sword into the soft underbelly of the corrected gem.

It poofed. There was no gem.

"Dang girl, you are beat up pret-ty good." Amethyst chuckled as she shook her whip into a cloud. Connie smiled as she began to push Rose's sword back into the bracelet.

"Thanks for the backup Amey."

"It was no problem." Amethyst paused and looked Connie over. "Are you okay Baby Mama?" Connie waved her away and started walking back to the remains of her mother's car. In the distance she could hear the thin whine of sirens.

"I will definitely have whiplash tomorrow and I probably have a concussion, but I'm alright."

"Oh snap, is your mom in there?"

"Yeah. Could you help me out?" Amethyst bristled, faintly glowing, as she bulked up and out. Gently, she righted the overturned vehicle and Connie crawled inside. Priyanka was still unconscious, but Connie checked her pupils and watched with relief as they reacted to the light.

"So what happened?" Amethyst asked as Connie removed herself from the wreckage. They needed to wait now for an ambulance.

"I'm not really sure. That gembeast just came out of nowhere and charged us." Connie rubbed her forehead as she leaned on the twisted frame of the car. "How did you get here so fast?"

"Garnet told me to tail ya. Plus, the Temple is crowded now that you guys are back."

"Well, thank the stars for Garnet." Connie sighed and looked over at the Crystal Gem. "Could you maybe, not tell Steven about this? I don't want him to worry."

"There are a lot of stupid secrets being kept right now." Connie raised an eyebrow.

"I will let you tell him if you tell me one." Amethyst laughed.

"For one thing chica, there is no _letting_ me. For another, you are a lot less scary than what I'd have to deal with for spilling the beans."

"Fine."

"So, does this mean you're wedding dress is on hold?"

"Not unless I'm dead." A rough voice radiated out of the car and Connie jumped in surprise.

"Man, you humans are a lot tougher than I first thought."

There are two types of physician parents: one who worries over every little scrap and cough, and the other who can't be bothered for anything less than cancer. Priyanka Maheswaran was the latter.

Because of this, Connie was not at all used to the sense of panicked urgency that was moving her through the ER.

Since the moment she had told the EMT loading her mother into the ambulance that she was pregnant, Connie had not stood on her own. And now that she was actually in the hospital, she had an alarming number of electrode pads being put on her person.

"Ma'am, do you know how far along you are in your pregnancy?"

"About three months."

"Tell the doctor I can't find a heartbeat."

"Ma'am? Can you hear me? Tanya, I think she just fainted."

When Connie woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed with the privacy curtain pulled around her. She could hear, in the silence, the soft breathing of two other people. She wasn't being isolated, and that was a good sign. Still, she wanted answers.

Sitting up, Connie pressed the CALL NURSE button on the handrail. She smoothed back her hair and adjusted the pillow behind her before the woman pushed past the curtain.

"Good afternoon Ms. Mayswan. How are you feeling?"

"It's Maheswaran, and I am incredibly sore. How is my baby?"

"Oh, pardon me. Ms. Maheswaran." The nurse went to the foot of the bed and picked up a clipboard. "Your baby is fine, did someone tell you there was a problem?"

"I heard they had a hard time finding a heartbeat when I came in."

"Oh yes, something wrong with the monitor we think. When the doctor checked with the stethoscope. The pulse was very strong."

"Wonderful. How is my mother?"

"Well, I can't tell you everything, but I can say that she's doing fine and she's currently being discharged."

"Can I see her?"

"Absolutely. After the doctor on duty talks to you and we finish our paperwork."

"Thank you."

"Of course, Ms. Maheswaran. I'll go see if the doctor is available now." The nurse put down the clipboard and walked back through the curtain. Connie sighed as she laid back, putting a hand on her stomach.

Such a fragile thing, life was.

"Ms. Uh, Maheswaran?" A new voice said as fingers came around the edge of the curtain.

"Yes." The curtain parted and another young woman stepped into view.

"My name is Nancy and I'm here to help you complete your paperwork."

"Thank you Nancy." Nancy pulled around the chair from the head of the bed to sit next to Connie.

"Now, your mother took care of most of this, being your next of kin. And she had your previous practice fax over your records, but she said you had been out of the country for a few years?"

"Yes, I was travelling with my husband." Nancy's eyes widened and she pulled out a pen.

"Ah, she didn't tell us you were married. Let me just correct this."

"We did only just marry." Connie mumbled and Nancy nodded, not really paying attention.

"So, during this time abroad, were you seeing a doctor at all?" Connie wondered how insane she would sound if she told the woman she had been receiving regular doses of her husband's healing spit via amorous embraces.

"Er, no. I stayed fairly healthy during that time."

"Now that you're back, do you have an OB that you're seeing?"

"I have not found one yet, no."

"Well, her is a list of providers that are in your insurance network as well as the OBs we have on staff here." Nancy handed over a thin stapled packet of yellow papers.

"Uh, thanks?" Connie took it and looked down, puzzled.

"Okay, well Ms. Maheswaran, all I need you to do is sign by the Xs on these tabbed pages and we're all set."

"Thank you Nancy." Connie took the offered clipboard and pen. She signed the few sheets that held her insurance and personal information. She handed it back and Nancy flipped through the papers to check over everything.

"The doctor should be in soon." Nancy said and stood.

"Right behind you actually." The curtain was ripped back and a tall man in a white coat stood in view.

"Oh, hello Dr. Santiago."

"Nancy." The two nodded to each other as Nancy walked away. Dr. Santiago walked to the foot of the bed and picked up the clipboard that the nurse had handled.

"How are we feeling Ms. Maheswaran?" He questioned, not looking up from the paper.

"Fine." Connie said and began to fold the papers Nancy had given her.

"Right," Dr. Santiago took a pen out from his coat pocket and scribbled on the paper. "It looks like you came out of the accident in decent shape. You have minor facial abrasions from the airbag. Your left elbow is also sprained. Play a lot of tennis?"

"Not since I was a kid." Dr. Santiago looked up at her with a smile as he set down the clipboard and replaced his pen in his pocket.

"My kids play, but I don't think they'll stick with it either." He moved around to the side of her bed and reached for her hand. "So three months pregnant, congratulations." He pressed his fingers to her wrist and looked at his watch.

"Thank you."

"Do you have an OB?"

"Not yet, no."

"Steady pulse, amazing considering the circumstances." Dr. Santiago let her wrist go and smiled down at her. "Well your mother told us that you have pica, and with this being your first pregnancy, I would recommend you get one sooner rather than later."

"I had a similar thought." Connie said dryly. Dr. Santiago's smile widened and he chuckled.

"Hey, you would be surprised by the amount of people who need the repetition."

"My mom's a physician."

"Then maybe not."

"Can I leave now?"

"Sure."

There were still more forms to sign, but after an hour, Connie and her mother were back in their clothes and in a taxi heading to a hotel.

"I already called the insurance company and secured us a rental car. I've also rescheduled our appointment with the boutique for tomorrow."

"Seriously mom?" Connie laughed and leaned back into the seat. She was suddenly very tired. And she was craving sand, which was bothering her.

"This is important. We're fine, so we can try on dresses."

"You have a concussion!"

"It's not my first one." Connie shook her head and smiled.

"Okay mom."

"I also haven't been able to reach your father."

"Mmm. He's probably still out with Mr. Universe."

"Yes, but we have an understanding. If I call three times in a row then it's an emergency."

"Then they're probably drunk." Priyanka sighed.

"Probably." The two women laughed. Priyanka put her arm around Connie's shoulder and pulled her close.

"I am so glad you both are safe." Connie rested her head on her mom's shoulder, one hand laying lightly on her stomach.

"Me too."

The hotel was oddly tall for being outside of Empire City limits. The interior was quiet and the man behind the counter could be heard typing on his computer as soon as they walked in the door.

"Ms. Ma-hay-sworn?" The man asked as they approached. Priyanka scowled and this time, Connie rolled her eyes.

"Maheswaran."

"My apologies. Your room is ready." The man slid a paper envelope across the counter. "Room 312, two double beds. Enjoy your stay."

"Thanks." Connie said while her mother just grumbled before walking away. As they moved toward the elevator bank, she finally noticed that her mother was carrying a bag.

"Mom, what's that?" She asked as Priyanka called the elevator.

"Oh, the police dropped it off. Turns out your gift from the Gems survived the incident." Pulling the jar out of the bag, Connie felt the rush of saliva in her mouth.

Now she understood what Garnet had meant.

"Thank the stars for Garnet." Connie muttered as the elevator doors opened.


End file.
